LIVE BLOG: Three Police Officers Killed in Rafah | Marc Rubio Arrives in Israel – Day 499

PALESTINIAN HEALTH MINISTRY: The Palestinian Health Ministry reported 7 injuries, two of them moderate to serious, caused by Israeli gunfire during the ongoing raid on Nablus. Sources told Al Jazeera that the raid also caused cases of suffocation due to Israeli forces firing tear gas in the city.

EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT ABDEL FATTAH EL-SISI: Egypt is preparing a comprehensive plan for the reconstruction of Gaza and the establishment of a Palestinian state, which he described as the only guarantee for achieving lasting peace.

AL JAZEER: Israeli occupation forces are sending additional military reinforcements to Nablus through the Huwwara checkpoint south of the city.

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem. The meeting will be followed by an expanded discussion between the two officials.

AL-JAZEERA: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived for a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem as part of his first regional tour.

AL-JAZEERA: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived for a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem as part of his first regional tour. pic.twitter.com/zouX57pBay

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 16, 2025

WASHINGTON POST: Reserve General Yisrael Ziv stated that President Trump’s proposal regarding Gaza will harm the agreement to return captives.

GAZA INTERIOR MINISTRY: Three police officers were martyred in an Israeli airstrike while securing aid in Rafah. Yedioth Ahronoth quoted an Israeli security source stating that the attack targeted armed individuals near Israeli forces in Rafah.

HEAD OF JABALIYA MUNICIPALITY (to Al-Jazeera): Northern Gaza lacks sufficient diesel and machinery for rubble removal. There is no drinking water, and sewage is spreading among the population.

ISRAELI CHANNEL 12: A shipment of heavy bombs delayed by the Biden administration arrived in Israel last night. The Israeli Security Ministry confirmed the receipt of the shipment.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: Israeli forces raided several villages, towns, and cities in the West Bank, including Yamun near Jenin, Tal near Nablus, Qalqilya, and Jalazoun camp north of Ramallah. Clashes broke out between resistance fighters and Israeli forces, who also conducted house raids and arrest

AL JAZEERA: Families from Shejaiya in eastern Gaza have set up tents in the Ibn Marwan cemetery after their homes and infrastructure were destroyed by Israeli forces during the war on Gaza.

JENIN BRIGADE: The Jenin Brigade announced that its fighters detonated explosives targeting Israeli military vehicles in the Wadi Al-Silah area. Israeli media reported that the Israeli military is considering establishing permanent military posts in Jenin camp.

AHMET DAVUTOGLU: During an exclusive interview with the Palestine Chronicle editor Ramzy Baroud, Professor Ahmet Davutoglu, former Prime Minister of Turkiye, said that his remarks on a Gaza ‘referendum’ to join Turkiye were made “as a reaction to Trump’s arrogant neo-imperial colonialism’.

KAN: The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that Netanyahu has not agreed to allow mobile homes and engineering equipment into Gaza, despite the agreement. Trump wants to change the agreement to release all captives before the second phase. Mediators are pressuring both Israel and Hamas to begin negotiations for the second phase.

BEN-GVIR: Former Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Netanyahu to stop “wasting opportunities” and demanded that Israel unleash “hell on Hamas” if all Israeli captives are not released. Ben-Gvir resigned in January in protest of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE: Netanyahu’s office announced that the cabinet will soon meet to make decisions regarding the Gaza agreement, amid increasing internal and external pressure on Israel to complete the deal.